Circle of Fire
by Winged-Wolf13
Summary: There's nothing like skipping class and enjoying a melted bar of sea salt ice cream in an old, abandoned section of the school. Tragedy; multiple character death; mild swearing.


A little ficlet to tide the readers of Kokoro over until I dish out the next chapter. It's nothing special.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts and it's characters do NOT belong to me.

**Warnings:** Tragedy; Multiple character deaths; Mild swearing.

* * *

As I teach to you my final words, there is ash on my tongue and fire licking my head clean of hair. The air is hot, scorching my skin to the point of flaking, tiny hairs on my ears and nape curling one moment, shriveling into oblivion the next. My body is cradled in the willowy arms of Axel, the pyromaniac red head, whose lean frame is caging me to the floor, and whose sweet salty tears are pelting my face. Roaring all around us is scorching red fire, illuminating our faces in the smoke that has begun to billow about in lazy clouds. I've long since given up on pleading to the man above me, he has long since blocked out my screams of defiance, the pleas for him to let me up, that we can and will make it. People will come, they'll save us from this plight. The hospital can mend a broken back and a bruised ego, right? But I've gotten ahead of myself. There's a story to this, our final moment as the closest of friends, pinned together to the dirty hallway floor as the building around us burns to nothing but ash and dog-eared textbook pages fluttering in the breeze.

This day, our _last_ day, had started as any other:

Smack the alarm clock, rush to school, sleep through the first four periods, struggle to keep my eyes open the fifth, then head on up to the third floor hallway to skip mathematics with the guys.

Hayner, Axel, Pence, Sora, and I. Or, _those guys_, as the girls prefer when they see us striding down the hallways, eyes askance as they looked us up and down.

"Look like your high as a kite, they _love_that." Hayner always said, slapping on a loopy smile and saluting the girls as they passed. Sometimes they glared, other times they'd giggle and continue to watch our backs until we'd turned a corner or disappeared into a undulating crowd.

Today, as I'd made my way to the third floor, I passed a gaggle of girls who refused to give me a passing glance. What that meant I could only assume was that Hayner was the one they were interested in, leaving the rest of _those guys _unimportant. But what did I care, they were just a group of silly high school girls. When I reached the stairs at the end of the hallway however, a red head with lips shining of watermelon lip-gloss intercepted my path and thrust her hand into my face. I remember jerking backwards, expecting a hit, only to realize I was staring at careful loopy handwriting upon a backdrop of yellowed paper. In bold were four letters: **SORA**.

"Hello Roxas," This stranger said cheerfully, reaching for my clammy hands to place the envelope in my palms. "Give this to Sora, would you? He'll know who it's from."

"Ah, right."

She nodded, bangs askew on her face as she turned curtly on her heel, arms folded behind her back as she skipped back into the crowd that eagerly accepted her presence.

"Weird." I mumbled, looking over the letter for a clue as to what it was. But that was obvious, she was obviously an admirer, too shy to give the object of her affection the answer to the riddle of glancing eyes and tender lip biting.

"I'm no paperboy." I had said, chucking it into the nearest trash bin. But as I went to scale the cold stone staircase, adorned with no support save for a rusting railing, guilt gnawed so greatly at the back of my conscience that I had no choice but to return to the receptacle and dig the letter back out. Besides a hastily chewed, fresh piece of gum, it was otherwise unscathed, the gum taking but a second to scrape off onto the cheap plastic lining that blanketed the bin.

After cramming it into the pocket of my hoodie, I scurried up the stairs before the approaching hall monitor or the chiming bell could prevent otherwise.

--//--

"Roxie, there 'ya are! We were beginning to think you weren't gonna show."

"You know me better than that." I retorted, plopping down on the dusty unused floor. Hayner scoffed and produced a box of sea salt ice cream, which looked to be quickly melting out the sides.

"Hurry and take one." He said swiftly, peeling the weeping cardboard away and producing what looked like a plastic baggie filled with blue slushy and a wooden stick.

"Shoot." Sora said, plucking out another loose container and passing on the dripping box.

"Ugh!" Pence grimaced, tossing the box to Axel because a baggie had broken and it's contents were now soaking his jeans. "What a waste..." The plump boy said, standing unsteadily as he gripped the denim of his jeans so it wouldn't stick to his skin. When he began to walk away, Hayner frowned at him and clutched his shirt.

"Where 'ya goin'? The moniter'll get you if you go down there!"

"I'll be quick." Pence said, pulling away. "Brb." He amended, ruffling each head of hair he passed. As I'd listlessly watched him jog down the hallway, I couldn't have known it would be the last time I'd ever see him.

Axel had his arm thrown around my shoulders as he slurped noisily at the melted treat in his hand. We were leaning against one another, best pals and not a care in the world. Hayner had long ago fashioned a sort of shelter our of the unused shelves and crates sitting on this floor, had assembled a throne for himself that he now sat regally on, tipping the ice cream towards his awaiting lips.

"This is the life." Sora said simply.

"Amen to that!" The other three chipped in. Axel shifted his weight to lean heavily on my side, unbalancing the both of us and forcing me to bend forward slightly, which brought to my attention the sharp folds of an envelope jutting into my stomach through the thin fabric of my hoodie pouch.

"Oh, Sora, this is for you. Some girl with red hair told me to give it to you, that you'd know who it was from."

As I yanked it unceremoniously from my pocket, Axel nodded in approval.

"Red head, huh? A fellow vixen of the red devils. I like her already."

"Oh, hush up you." I bopped Axel on his buoyant, flaming red spikes, making him pout and return to the ice cream remains in his hands. I managed to get the letter out without completely crushing it, Sora snatched it from me as soon as it was visible and tore it open hungrily. His cerulean eyes scanned it furiously, and when they reached the bottom his eyes took on a dreamy gleam and he sighed contently.

Axel and I stared at him curiously till he caved and explained, "Kairi is my potential girlfriend. We've been friends for awhile now, and, well, I wanna see what will come of a relationship."

"Oh, I think you know who'll come." Axel mumbled slyly, nudging me in the side.

"Axel!" Sora was blushing despite his smile, folding the letter carefully and sliding it into his jeans.

"Just ignore him, Sora. Maybe he'll go away." Axel furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "Congrats though! It's been forever since you saw anyone."

"Haha, I know right? Alice was the last girl you saw, wasn't she?"

Sora laughed, nodding giddily. "Yeah, but it didn't work out. She had this hallucinatory disorder or something, and she said it got worse when I was around. Apparently, whenever I was holding something, it'd turn into a giant key or something."

"Wow. That's not weird." Hayner said sarcastically.

"She was nice though." The brunette concluded, gazing into space thoughtfully.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, content to just sit and skip class as we enjoyed a sweetly salty treat. That is, until Hayner decided he was bored and wanted to check out the other empty rooms on this floor. Since it was unused, there were piles of crates, probably full of textbooks and sheets of paper, stacked near to the ceiling. Doors were placed randomly up and down the corridor, perhaps locked but enticing all the same.

"Let's see what's in this one." Hayner said, yanking experimentally on the rusted bronze handle of an old classroom door. It it took all three of them to shove it open, squawking dangerously even as it was pushed open.

"Yikes." I mumbled.

"I hope no one heard." Axel said.

"Yeah, and I hope Pence can find us."

"Haha," Hayner said evilly. "Let's close the door so he thinks we went back to class or something."

"Alright!" Sora agreed, shoving everyone inside so he could re-shut the door. I remember looking at the door sadly, hoping only that it would re-open later on. There was a stack of papers beside the door, I smartly stepped over it as Sora and Hayner did, but Axel, who was much taller and had to crane his head downwards quite a bit to actually see the floor, tripped and flopped into the floor.

"Ssh!" I reprimanded. "If we get caught up here, I'm running and pinning you three with the blame."

"Traitor!" Axel said, smiling with his eyes even though his cheeks were flushed.

"Ugh, it's so dusty." A cloud dust hovered like a fog in this room, waved aside only temporarily by Hayner and Sora's frenzied arms.

"Whoa, look at all the lame boring stuff."

It looked like a typical classroom. Except it was covered in an inch of dust and made my nose itch and eyes water just looking at it.

"Oh, c'mon. I'm gonna poke around and see if there are any treasures." He walked in, flicking at the light switch (which didn't turn on, just flickered) then made his way over to the teachers desk.

"Treasures? What kind of treasure are you expecting to find in a place like this?" I looked all around, the room was devoid of anything worth mentioning. Unless you find old-fashioned desks entertaining.

"You never know what you'll find when your not really looking. Search the perimeter!"

Have I mentioned that Hayner is a total moron? No? Now you know.

"Just do it." I sighed, shoving Axel in the direction of two rusting cabinets. He pried the top drawer open with a degrading ruler while I pulled. It flew open suddenly, sending me to the floor. Axel sniggered down at me.

"You did that on purpose." I said menacingly.

"Nuh-uhhh!" He retorted, no longer paying me any attention as he leafed through musty folders.

"Hey, look at this." He produced a greenish (it was probably manilla when it was new) file and flicked it open, revealing what looked to be a cluster of photos.

"Cool." I said, standing to peer at the pictures. There was a class photo, the date reading 1998. The next one showed a stocky brunette with piercing golden eyes. Another showed a girl with dark blue hair and a gentle smile.

"Holy crap, look at this guy." Axel waved the picture free of dust, then placed it in my hands. What I saw made my jaw drop.

The boy in the photo bore a frightening resemblance to myself. Right down to the obnoxiously spiky hair and icy blue eyes.

"Is that your dad or something?"

"No," I mumbled, awestruck. " Dad has brown hair."

"Score!"

Axel and I turned to see Hayner grinning maniacally down at his fist, while Sora looked on nervously.

"Hayner, put it back, your gonna get us all killed."

"Quit being a baby Sora. I know what I'm doing."

"What is it?"

Hayner held up a dusty lighter, still halfway full of lighter fluid.

"Epic!" Axel said, scurrying over to the blondes side, grasping for it.

"Hey, that's mine!" The skateboarder frowned and punched Axel in the side, causing him to drop the canister, which rolled under the teachers desk with an ominous click.

"Now look at what you've done." Hayner stooped to the ground, reaching under the desk for the lighter. He shuffled about for a moment, grimacing at the feel of dust bunnies, insect husks, and what could quite possibly be rat crap.

"Shoot, it broke." The blonde skater pulled out the remains of the dripping lighter, shaking it off into the floor before chucking it behind his head.

"Well, it's useless now, huh?"

"No thanks to you." Hayner mumbled, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. I patted his shoulder consolingly, trading glances with Axel as I did so.

"Does this make it better?" Sora said, holding up a pack of matches that he had just dug out of another drawer.

"Ohhh, yes!" Hayner exclaimed, snatching them from the brunette.

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes and decided to go back to the drawer cabinet, Axel followed, but before I had the chance to do any good snooping, there was a flash of light and a cry of pain from behind us. I turned on my heel to find Hayner grasping his charring arm, and Sora who was stomping the paper littered floor to put out the flames from the fallen match.

"What the hell?! You morons!" Axel reached Sora before I did, but he was unable to get close to the sweating brunette.

"Help me Hayner!" Sora shouted desperately, stamping the blazing floor, flames licking his toes and climbing over the papers about the room. There was no stopping it, it'd gotten too big too quickly, and as I ran to the door, I found that no matter how hard I pulled it would not open.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit." Axel gibbered, running in circles and waving his arms frantically about. Sora screeched and grabbed Hayner, who was hyperventilating in a corner, then jumped over the desk to join me by the door, which was as far away from the desk as possible. Axel had run to the windows, yanking and pulling at them, but someone had nailed them shut to keep out insects, and with that, there was no escaping. That didn't stop Hayner, Sora, and I from yanking and bashing on the door helplessly, gasping for breath as the room exploded into light and smoke choked off most cries.

"Guys!? What's going on in there?!"

"Pence!" Hayner cried, banging on the door with his fists until they bled. "Get us out of here!"

"Hold on!" The plump boy shouted. "I'm going to go get help, just stay put."

"No wait!" I yelled, but heavy footsteps disappeared into the distance on the other side of the door.

"He didn't know that there was a fire." Sora said, his normally vibrant blue eyes watery and frightened.

"No..." Hayner said quietly, backing up from the door. "I wont die here, I cant."

"Hey!" Axel shouted, his cry followed by the splintering of glass and a thin filter of light. "Help me get this open!"

The three of us rushed to the window, having to leap over flames and bat smoke away to get there. When we did, the red head pointed out that some of the nails were rusted and if you pulled just so, they'd snap and the window would budge just a little more. We yanked and pulled at the window, able to see the sky and the roads below as we did, people going about their way without any knowledge of the trapped and dying teens. As a last ditch effort, knowing that the boards were going no where, Axel started scraping and clawing at the window, his fingernails chipping, breaking and bloody.

Sora, heart pounding and beads of sweat dripping down his face, backed away from the window and huddled into the corner opposite them. He began to weep quietly, hands in his hair as he hyperventilated. Hayner sighed sadly, looking deep into my eyes before making his way over to the other boy; the flames swallowing them both. Sora screamed, and I found myself turning away from it all to bury myself in Axel's body. His lanky arms folded around me, and that was when the room exploded. We were thrown aside, Axel shouting in pain as he took the brunt of the impact, the desks and the heated metal breaking him even as I held us both together.

I scrabbled beneath him, trying to sit up so I could return to the window, maybe it would break from the heat eventaully, but Axel was holding me fast, his hands rubbing the tension from my back.

"Oh, God. Oh no, Axel we have to get up. Please, we can find a way out. The window... The window..."

The pyromaniac red head shook his head, burying his nose in my hair and squeezing tight.

"Roxas, you've been my best friend through everything. And... I'm gonna be selfish and hold you here... Until we die. Together, like this, we can go into oblivion... You and me... If we hold each other close like this, we'll be the first things we see in heaven. Wont that be wonderful?"

"Axel... No... Don't talk like that. This can't be the end, it just can't."

"But it is." Axel murmured, cooing into my ear. "Don't worry, kiddo. Everything has to end eventually. And what a suiting way for me to go, huh?"

--//--

There is ash on my tongue and fire licking my head clean of hair. The air is hot, scorching my skin to the point of flaking, tiny hairs on my ears and nape curling one moment, shriveling into oblivion the next. My body is cradled in the willowy arms of Axel, the pyromaniac red head, whose lean frame is caging me to the floor, and whose sweet salty tears are pelting my face. Roaring all around us is scorching red fire, illuminating our faces in the smoke that has begun to billow about in lazy clouds. I've long since given up on pleading to the man above me, he has long since blocked out my screams of defiance, the pleas for him to let me up, that we can and will make it. People will come, they'll save us from this plight. The hospital can mend a broken back and a bruised ego, right?

There is another explosion, and the heat rolls in waves all about us. Axel opens his malachite eyes for the briefest of moments and smiles so tenderly it breaks my heart. Suddenly, it is all okay.

"Best friends forever."

"... Best friends forever."

--//--

Later that day, as the students stood out on the grass that surrounded the school, a girl with watermelon lip gloss wept openly on the shoulder of a plump brunette boy who smelled vaguely of sea salt ice cream and smoke.

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Reviews are love!~


End file.
